‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ Relies on Black Women Leadership

 

Black Panther:Wakanda Forever film poster.

Ryan Coogler’s ability to place his art house style into a big budget Marvel film remains an incredible feat. From the special Marvel opening credits to the pivotal end, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever  respectfully tribunes the late Chadwick Boseman. Grief provides a third-dimensional component enhancing a genuine response from each important woman in T’Challa’s world on screen. Every fallen tear, every wobbled breath holds tremendous despair. Shuri, Queen Ramonda, Okoye, and Nakia express their sorrows differently, channeling their broken hearts and spirits by carrying on with individual duties. Shuri continues inventing technological devices in her lab, the very place she tried finding a cure for her dying brother. Queen Ramonda focuses on her remaining child, desperately hoping Shuri releases her pent up sadness. Okoye stays the valiant general, constantly at ready whenever her country needs strength, but her eyes shed an unhappy truth. Nakia, however, cannot even bear returning for T’Challa’s funeral, opting to make a divine purpose in Haiti teaching children nature. 

Once these four women come together, the healing can begin. 

Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett) and Shuri (Letitia Wright) encounter Namor. DP: Autumn Durald  Arkapaw.

Without the Black Panther, Wakanda appears weak and defenseless. The Dora Milaje remedy that foolish notion. Queen Ramonda expels regal grace and fiery authority over a U. N. Conference, telling the countries that she knows their true allegiance does not lie with Wakanda, but with their lustful hunger for Vibranium. This powerful scene showcases a commanding woman who lost two important men in her life, the two beacons meant to protect her nation, and though she must rule alone, she will do so with a clairvoyant eye and a diligent resolve. Those present in the meeting view Queen Ramonda as rude, threatening, and disrespectful. In truth, she exudes a one-time kindness offering that they should take advantage of. 

Still, a new apparent danger exists underwater, a blue people unlike anything James Cameron could create— for these people refuse to be seen, much less conquered by the colonizers. They are called the Talokan and may have come from land ancestors as far back as Mayan civilization, but the endless, abyssal sea grants them necessary shelter. Their ruler, Namor, a mutant with wings on his ankles, vows to keep that secret guarded. And somehow a young genius stands in the way. He interrupts Queen Ramonda and Shuri’s burial ritual and blackmails them to find a scientist he must kill. 

Riri (Dominique Thorne) helps Shuri in the lab. DP: Autumn Durald Arkapaw.

The humorous elements turn tears to laughter. For example, M’Baku entering meetings chomping (unrealistically) on giant rainbow carrots. The whitest song possible reintroduces Everett Ross— “Can’t Stop” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Okoye (a constant delight in her field work) provides the clipped jokes as she and Shuri approach college student Riri “Ironheart” Williams (with Ross’s help). Seems the military always heavily surveils the super smart people— probably to control or kill in the future. 

Yet, Riri is a young girl deserving to live. Namor shouldn’t be trying to kill her either. 

The Black Girl Magic trio have a wild escape sequence: Ironheart flying high in her ultra cool suit for the first time, Shuri riding solo on a motorcycle, and Okoye driving a hot red car. All seems swell until the blue crew comes through, throwing Okoye into the water (after a awesome fight), and taking Ironheart and Shuri into their undiscovered realm. Must state a million times that the underwater sequences are absolutely beautiful, seeing these gorgeous characters swimming beside epic architecture— a feast for the ages.  

However, the fact that people ship Shuri with Namor leaves room for concern. Yes, it is nice that he gave her his mother’s bracelet and showed her his home in a protective suit, but in that same soft tone, he expresses that Ironheart must die. Surely, no one finds any romance in that demented request. Or in what he later does in the film.

A reactionary Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett) could not wait to throw Okoye (Danai Gurira) under a bus— or Wakandan space vehicle. DP: Autumn Durald Arkapaw. 

Meanwhile Okoye is cruelly stripped of her title and forced to live as a Wakanda citizen, leaving Queen Ramonda to trust in one person— the woman who abandoned them to their pain, Nakia. The (widow?) helps in the search for Shuri, posing as a visitor speaking Spanish at the location nearest Shuri’s whereabouts. Nakia learns of the flying man with winged feet and finds his lair; killing a Talokan before saving Shuri and Riri. Despite Shuri’s resentment towards Nakia for not coming to T’Challa’s funeral, the two women still have a very close relationship, one of genuine love and care for the other. If anyone would have saved Shuri, it would be Nakia. After all, they are as close as bonded sisters, poignantly conveyed in their every scene together. 

Namor (Tenoch Huerta) actually makes good on his threat to Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett). DP: Autumn Durald Arkapaw.

The biggest gripe is that Queen Ramonda did not have to be sacrificed in a story jam packed with emotional depth. T’Challa’s death simply lingers too great to add on another casualty. Shuri recently mourned her father and brother almost on top of each other. Shuri may be incredibly smart and technically advanced, but she is still quite young and vulnerable. She is human. Thrusting a heap of responsibility onto her before her tears run dry screams of Black women’s communal duty to hide their emotions, to put others above their sacred mental space. The queen had more to teach and to snuff out her life just to push a revenge angle— to have Erik Killmonger join Shuri’s ancestral plain— seems harsh. Namor equates a subject’s death and Shuri and Thorne’s escape to drowning an actual royalty figure— also a terrible takeaway. 

In the previous Black Panther film, Killmonger spilled insightful truths scene after scene and brought interesting points about Vibranium’s possible impact on defenseless Black people outside Wakanda. Yet fueled by a destructive nature, he killed innocent people in Wakanda that chose not to follow his orders and destroyed the purple herb so that no other Black Panthers would come after him. He would have killed Queen Ramonda herself— and Queen Ramonda’s harbored resentment of his temporary rule explodes in full force at Okoye, who had chosen then to operate as Dora Milaje general than flee. 

Namor lives up to his nickname meaning— no love. DP: Autumn Durald Arkapaw.  

Namor’s villainy mirrors Killonger’s— that bloodthirsty vengeance, the willingness to harm anyone in order to guard his underwater kingdom, eying the wrong enemy. The foe was never Wakanda. The foe will always be the meddling military involvement in all things they have yet to conquer. 

The big fight between Wakanda and the Talokan comes down to Shuri versus Namor. The bigger battle, however, is justice. How will justice be served in the era of superhero fantasy/drama? Can a young woman avenge her mother if not by combat, by law— something that does not seem to exist when two opposing worlds collide? As Namor nearly succumbs and Shuri gains the upper hand, Queen Ramonda’s ghost echoes “show them who you are,” same words she used on T’Challa in the previous film, setting up an early route to forgiveness. It is not to say that Namor should be murdered on the spot at Shuri’s hand, it is to remark on the unfairness of a Black woman’s death, that nothing in this realm can be done to truly punish Namor. Sometimes, Black women are constantly instructed to acquit those that wrong them.  

Furthermore, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever includes even more military presence than before— meaning colonizers gaining more screen time and story than necessary, taking away from the crucial matters at hand. There is the Talokan murdering military personnel, Ross and his annoying ex-wife, and other parts existing off Wakanda and Talokan— as though some screenplay interference happened here.  Even without the element of Marvel comic books, imagine a human picture with two differing cultures both unadulterated by colonialism that can build something remarkable together if only the notion of war did not stand in the way. That essentially is the narrative we should have gotten. 

And without Queen Ramonda’s death. Two funerals in a single film almost three hours long is a lot.  

Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) is the third protector of Riri (Dominique Thorne). DP: Autumn Durald Arkapaw.  

Overall, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’s true highlights speak for themselves— Coogler’s direction and screenplay with Joe Robert Cole (still good elements), Autumn Durald Arkapaw’s dynamic cinematography, Hannah Beachler’s Afrofuturistic production design, Ruth Carter’s phenomenal costumes (seriously, where can one get that fabulous dress an unemployed Okoye wore?), and Ludwig Göransson s beat driven soundtrack with the fiery acting ensemble on top! Angela Bassett (first actress in a Marvel film to be Oscar nominated), Letitia Wright, Danai Gurira, Lupita Nyong’o, Florence Kasumba, the late Dorothy Steel, and Winston Duke come back with newcomers Michaela Coel, Dominique Thorne, Tenoch Huerta, Mabel Cadena, and Zainah Jah (a brilliant theater actress who starred in Gurira’s Eclipsed play alongside Nyong’o).

A powerful, understated depiction of all-consuming grief.

'Us' Unpacks a Bag of Stimulating Psychological Horror

Us film poster.

Us, writer/director Jordan Peele's follow up to Oscar-winning Get Out, puts the middle class black family in peril twice. It starts with a small television playing a commercial, a hands across America campaign to fight hunger. The charts are red and blue. Red and blue figures joining hands to bring peace and harmony.

Circa 1986, at the amusement park on the beach of Santa Cruz, Adelaide "Adele" is a silent child who wanders off from her father. She holds onto a red apple-- a red apple so deliciously enticing that it dominates the scene with rich, intense purpose. As thunder and lightning strike and the rain falls, she stumbles into a fun house and the madness begins. Although all the mirrors show her reflection, she is stunned to find someone else, an exact replica. Afterwards, she is even more withdrawn.

Young Adele (Madison Curry) puts on a scare worthy acting display that is mostly unspoken. 

It is important to note how young Adele studied her parents, studied the world around her as if plotting to mimic everything. The childlike desire to do this is a natural inclination. In young Adele, however, there certainly appears to be a newness in how she stares, how she interacts. At the therapy office, she is absent of affection, quite robotic and distant when her father pats her shoulder. This behavior further demonstrates how much the environment affects the individual.

In present day, Adele has married a man much like her father-- tall, dark skinned Gabe Wilson. They have two children--Zora and Jason, the youngest a keen, observant boy who dons a mask throughout. Again, masks portray a sense of wanting to hide true self, to retain a mystery.

Gabe (Winston Duke), Adele (Lupita Nyong'o), and Jason (Evan Alex) look out at danger.

The family are at their vacation home for the summer in Santa Cruz. Whilst enjoying a lusciously red strawberry, as inviting as the red apple yet symbolically conveying an adult persona, Adele refuses going to the beach or socializing. They do so at Gabe's urging. At night, after 11:11 PM, The Tethered arrive and the real fright begins. The Tethered are human clones dressed in matching red jumpsuits holding gold surgical scissors, shadows living underground, living beneath the house of mirrors, abandoned and left to fend for themselves, all stark, raving mad and hungry. At the same time, they are able to replicate the activities their human counterparts possess. Interesting too, The Tethered communicate through grunts and sounds, but Adele's, Red, is the only one that can speak.

"It's us," Jason says of the family in their driveway.

The twist sheds compelling light. Adele is actually Red, The Tethered living among humans, having cruelly pulled real Adele inside the mirror as a child. Red just wanted a normal life and decided to take over Adele's. The Tethered can procreate, meaning Zora and Jason are half human, half clone. Adele seeks revenge for the cruel switch. At the same time, she has masterminded the whole entire scheme of world domination with the educated mentality of a child growing up angry and malnourished. She has ultimately become evil. Still, it's not quite clear on how Adele became trapped in the underworld or why it took long for her to rise to the surface with the others. Why this particular summer to wreak havoc? Adele also knew how The Tethered came to being without no one uttering a word to her. Red has always known that Adele would come, but appears flabbergasted that her human half orchestrated a whole plot that stemmed mostly from hatred with beings that are not her species. Moreover, the switcheroo has affected them: Adele's rage manifested beyond her feelings for Red and Red's insertion into humanity gave a false sense of security.

Finally, Lupita is given the freedom to unleash her craft.

Red (Lupita Nyong'o) and her scissors.

The performances are absolutely stellar. Every actor channels believable emotional complexities with or without dialogue, using facial expressions and body motions to pull this narrative forward. Standout Lupita Nyong'o puts on an incredible double performance full of complex range from frightening and vulnerable to sinister and twisted. In her animated eyes, the significant tears are eerily reminiscent of Daniel Kaluuya's Chris in Get Out. Yet the creepy, raspy voice of Red downright cements the phenomenal depth of Nyong'o's talent as an actress, that avidly speaks on her finessing all methods acting allows. After winning an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in 2012, this is her first starring role. Us definitely showcases why she should have been leading films for years.

Winston Duke brings humor and light to an otherwise dark and dreary story. His bespectacled, Howard educated Gabe is quite the opposite of Black Panther's M'Baku. Gabe evokes the typical middle class father personality, articulating the proper accent to a tee. Gabe is envious of Tony (whose similar to Iron Man/Tony Stark-- in terms of arrogance and wealth)-- his larger house, his high tech Ophelia (aka an advanced Suri), his larger boat, his flare fun. Gabe doesn't covet Tony's white wife, Kitty, always seen to be the idealized trophy of status quo black men like him. He is also infallible, wounded early on, walking with a makeshift crutch during the later parts. With the temporary physical loss, his resourcefulness becomes a reliable strength.

Spoiled, self-absorbed, Kitty (Elizabeth Moss) is shot with such intensity, as though her blue-eyed, blond-haired presence is a thing to marvel and idolize.  

From Virgin to Mad Men to Top of the Lake to The Handmaid's Tale, Golden Globe and Emmy award winning Elizabeth Moss continues delivering exceptional work with a pretty juicy supporting part. Kitty's first appearance voices white women's obsession with youthfulness and their envy of black women's agelessness. Kitty has gotten work done (funny considering that Moss and Nyong'o are the same age). Kitty's doppelganger's scissors can't cut Adele's face because either the struggle to destroy such flawless beauty seems wasted or she knows that Adele is not human, but is confused by Adele speaking. Moss exhibits fine acting elements particularly when Kitty's tethered puts on lipstick and stares at her grotesque reflection.

Jason and his doppelganger both have a fascination with fire. Strangely, however, his double is dog like, a family pet. 

The child actors are undeniably brilliant-- Madison Curry as young Adele, Shahadi Wright Joseph as Zora, and Evan Alex as Jason showed that up and coming Black talent have champions to future thrones. The perfect young Adele adjacent to Nyong'o, Curry's giant eyes, wide opened mouth, and braided hair with white ball barrettes hued in blue cleverly frames a new horror aesthetic. Her passive silence stirs and electrifies. She is able to convey a quietness stemmed from shy, vulnerability and a quietness that is vacant, almost inhuman. Joseph's Zora has the modern teenager attitude to a science. She then grows up overnight, killing any clone endangering her family and it is a bloody, dangerous business. Now this is a black girl heroine. Alex as Jason exemplifies the plight of the little Black boy, often misunderstood, the especially precious child to Adele. He likes to tease and frighten his sister as brothers often do. When he disappears and leaves Adele frantic, he returns and later asks her if she thought he was dead. That question spoken softly from Alex's young child's voice, poignantly addresses that though the Wilsons are privileged, they're still Black and not immune to the brutalities racism provokes.

Other cast highlights: Anna Diop-- a solid choice in playing Adele's worrisome mother who misses her daughter's voice. Howard alum Napiera Groves of As The World Turns makes a small cameo as the therapist pushing Adele into pursuing a creative outlet.

Zora (Shahadi Wright Joseph) shoulders her father, Gabe (Winston Duke) through an apocalyptic morning.

Us shows Black people surviving a massacre, shows white people dying first, dying many times, and no dead black casualties-- an opposition to the history of horror films and real life situations. And the police never showed up! Again, the law enforcement role in Peele's films are an imperative detail in both Get Out and Us. Whereas Chris is frightened when he sees those flashing red and blue lights, the police don't come to the Wilson family's aide and Kitty's request to Ophelia to call them is denied by a specific N.W.A. song. Peele has recently come under fire for acknowledging Black talent and commitment to having that Black talent (which goes virtually unnoticed for years and years) lead his films. He is performing a commendable service that upsets others so much because his passionate words actively followed through on those words.

The gorgeous cinematography-- an appreciative kudos to noir and nostalgic horror with Hitchcockian repetitive rabbits and bird flocks-- operates well alongside Michael Abel's heartstopping score. The excellent music choices heighten scenes to petrifying degrees, especially that profoundly epic The Tethered Vs. Human fight with the haunting, pronounced "I Got Five On It" piano keys. Lord. Even the opening "Anthem" theme (featuring a haunting, harmonious choir) pleases and forces the head to bop shamelessly.

Red in red and Adele in white asks the audience who is truly good and villainous in the scenario. Red wanted to kill Adele of course. Yet she has killed nobody in the film.

Like the hypnotic, lilting sounds silver spoons make against the rim of tea cups, the quick flicking scissors ignites a refreshingly unique source of terror. By bringing in Black Renaissance and Black capabilities in this contemporary age of filmmaking, entering specifically through the horror genre, Peele and Monkeypaw Productions created another great work with Us.

Happy Birthday, Lupita Nyong'o: Fem Film Rogue Icon Spotlight

Lupita is a gem to film, fashion, and hair.

Is there no other person who steals hearts more than Lupita Nyong'o?

The Mexican born daughter of Kenyan parents is a multi-talented, resilient, award-winning force unlike any other. She has won an Oscar, a NAACP Image Award, an ABFF Award, two Black Reel Awards, an Obie Award, an Independent Spirit Award, two Gold Derby Awards, a SAG Award, and a slew of other critics honors. She has also been nominated for a Tony Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Satellite, two BAFTAs, an Empire Award, a Drama League Award, and endless other nods.

And she just turns thirty-five-years young today.

Lupita Nyong'o at the Academy Awards, winning for Best Supporting Actress, 2013.

Lupita at the SAG Awards, 2013.

Lupita at the Met Gala: Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology, 2016.

Lupita at the Star Wars: The Last Jedi premiere, 2017.

Lupita at the Black Panther premiere, 2018.

Six years ago, Nyong'o stepped on the scene with pure dynamism and infectious sweetness, an accomplished Yale grad, a speaker of four languages (English, Spanish, Luo, and Swahili), a former understudy for Danai Gurira's debut play for another great actress Adepero Oduye (who she starred alongside in her first feature film, Steve McQueen's Oscar winning 12 Years a Slave). She seduced everyone with her intelligently authentic awards speeches, fabulous red carpet style, captivating smile, and short cropped natural. The latter made her fearless, a unique iconic ally among the plethora of black women celebrities who were not brave enough to rock anti-Europeanism. It was a candid, boastful political statement that championed the way we grew out our hair, not a thing of shame, but a beautiful, inspiring manifesto written in her coifed TWA, her twist outs, her bantu knots. Her gorgeous dark hued skin, luminous and glowing, also drew in rave reviews from everyone all over the world who occasionally saw themselves reflected on the big screen until Nyong'o shined incredible light. Colorism be damned.

Ayira (Lupita Nyong'o) wants more than what Ty (Pepe Haze) can offer her.

I first watched Nyong'o's work on Shuga, a MTV produced series that explores the consequences of unprotected sexual relationships in Kenya (later moving to Nigeria). She played Ayira, a spry, naïve college girl in a long-term relationship, using rich older men as a catalyst for making it big. Although at times, Ayira carelessly jeopardizing her relationship challenged relationship morals, yet Nyong'o's evenly layered performance made the character almost worth rooting for.

Eventually, Nyong'o and Gurira reunited for Eclipsed, the first Broadway play with an all female cast and female director, a drama with a few lighthearted moments about Liberian soldiers who escape turmoil and sexual abuse. Nyong'o's character changing from sweet, innocent child-woman to fierce, indestructible soldier shared a great depth of vulnerability, strength, dignity, and grace.

Rita (Akosua Busia) provides The Girl (Lupita Nyong'o) comfort.

Later, Queen of Katwe, a thoughtful, generous love letter to Africa, directed by the exceptional Mira Nair is a piece that I simply cannot recommend enough. From the splendid shot on location in Africa, to a rich, humorous, bittersweet story of a young chess girl living in the village, to that great Young Cardamom & HAB #1 Spice song/video, this may sound too Disney, but I must say that the story is about believing in dreams and defeating all odds-- gender, race, class, etc. Nyong'o is a reluctant mother who doesn't want her daughter to have high, grand hopes. Madina Nawanga has a great debut here as the real-life Phiona Mutesi and we hope that in the future, she too will become a dominant media star as well.

A step up from a Barbie.

Nyong'o's portrayal as Nakia is certainly a dream come to life for little black girls whom rarely see themselves as heroes, as vigilantes. Ryan Coogler fleshes out the character, for compassionate spy Nakia is T'Challa's key love interest-- a rare win in the Marvel Universe while Falcon, another black male hero, still plays only second fiddle to Captain America, but that's another story entirely. However, Nakia loves her freedom and wants to share that liberty with those in need, especially oppressed black women all over Africa. That makes her valid and rootable. Plus, her hairstyles and outfits are off the chain.

Nyong'o is also a producer, director, and writer: her first piece (she served as publicist, sound editor, and editor as well), a short called In My Genes explores albinoism in Africa and she is penning a children's book on colorism in Kenya entitled Sulwe, means "star" in Luo. It will be released next January. She advocates against poaching, launching a campaign called "Minds and Hearts," wrote a raw, poignant New York Times piece on her personal experience with serial sexual harrasser/rapist Harvey Weinstein, and vows to work solely with women and male feminist directors.

Lupita Nyong'o receiving an affectionate hug from her bestie, playwright/actress Danai Gurira on promotion of Eclipsed on Broadway.

Currently, in addition to being in Black Panther, the top movie in the world right now, it has been announced that Nyong'o and Gurira are teaming up once again to adapt Chimamnda Ngozi Adichie's brilliant novel, Americanah with Gurira writing the screenplay and Nyong'o starring and producing. Nyong'o will also be producing and starring in Trevor Noah's memoir, Born a Crime. Nyong'o's next film is Abe Forsythe's Little Monsters, which doesn't yet have a U.S. release date, and Ava DuVernay will be penning and producing a buddy film starring Nyong'o and Rihanna for Netflix.  

With so much happening on the horizon, Lupita Nyong'o remains a diligent, influential figure in black culture, having covered Vogue Magazine a record for times as a black woman (despite putting them in check for incorrectly guessing her Met Gala Ball hair inspiration) and is the first black woman to be brand ambassador for French beauty company, Lancôme.

Lupita is an inspiration that defies Western beauty standards, brazenly showing everyone the effervescent enthrallment of the black woman, wearing any color, any pattern, challenging the ever critical eye with her style, her acting choices, and producing decisions. Armored with privileged education and two loving parents and family, she brings that sharp edged tenacity and passion to those desperate to see themselves, hear themselves in all forms of visual media.

Here are some of her most memorable quotes:

"What I have learned about myself is that I don't have to be anybody else. Myself is good enough." From backstage after monumental Oscars win, 2013

"My complexion had always been an obstacle to overcome and all of a sudden, Oprah was telling me it wasn’t. It was perplexing and I wanted to reject it because I had begun to enjoy the seduction of inadequacy. But a flower couldn’t help but bloom inside of me. When I saw Alek I inadvertently saw a reflection of myself that I could not deny. Now, I had a spring in my step because I felt more seen, more appreciated by the far away gatekeepers of beauty, but around me the preference for light skin prevailed. To the beholders that I thought mattered, I was still unbeautiful. And my mother again would say to me, "You can’t eat beauty. It doesn’t feed you." And these words plagued and bothered me; I didn’t really understand them until finally I realized that beauty was not a thing that I could acquire or consume, it was something that I just had to be." Read her full Black Woman in Hollywood speech here, 2014.

"Go where you are loved. Danai Gurira, who wrote Eclipsed, shared that with me, and it's a valuable thought that's really stuck. When you're trying to find collaborators, you need to go where you are loved—because that's precisely the place where your dreams and goals will be nurtured. People who see the best in you bring out the best in you." Oprah, 2016
  

‘Black Panther’ Gloriously Delivers Wakanda

Black Panther film poster.

Black Panther was indescribably above expectations and is the best Marvel film by far.

Although not the originally slated four hours that anxious fans desperately hoped for, the shorter run time still had plenty of juicy appeal to satisfy the appetite for all things African. This film is definitely not the average Marvel verse. At last, we see ourselves, our ancestral pride stitched in every detail. From the far and wide casting choices of black American, Kenyan, Zimbabwean, Ugandan, Rwandan actors/actresses to the elaborate costumes that pay homage to roots, to the jewelry to the sights of drums and dance and ritual to face painting, hair styles, makeup, fashion, language (both phonemic and hand communication) and scenery. Every ingredient unifies the world of Wakanda, taking audiences to a place they’ve always wanted to go, but rarely realized it could finally happen.

Nakia (Lupita Nyong'o), T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman), and Okoye (Danai Gurira) are now home.

Black Panther starts off with an unexpected betrayal in the past, an act that will unravel and change the course of Wakandan allegiances in the future. Thus, in the present-day, after catastrophic events from Captain America: Civil War, T’Challa embarks home, retrieving Nakia, a bold, brazen woman spy who often leaves him rightfully "frozen," along the way. Upon his most welcomed return, the traditional ceremony of his crowning as King of Wakanda is a joyous occasion with music, dance, and battle.

Like an eloquent black Eve bearing an apple of fruitful knowledge, Nakia, refusing to be wife, offers T'Challa the first taste of forbidden resistance. She wants to share Wakanda to those in need, to generously spread the great wealth of resources all over the world, especially to black people. This is where they differ. T'Challa wants to stick with Wakandan tradition, to remain apart, and continue on with sacred, privileged black utopia. They are on opposing sides, but the love they have for Wakanda and for one another is a delightful. refreshing energy. Their banter, their looks into each other's eyes, their handholding, and their kissing is that splendid, exasperating thing, the first black on black heterosexual love story shown in the Marvel films.

T'Challa is reluctant, but is ready to be a remarkable leader. At the same time, he is not his father. He is tested throughout, challenged to consider exactly where Wakanda's loyalties lie. In his eventual pursuit of Klaue, he faces being surveillanced under the scrutiny of public eye and finding out some disheartening truths about his father, who had once said in the astral plane, "that a father who cannot prepare his son for the future has failed as a father."

The hypocrisy levels definitely tore T'Challas's fatherly love and admiration asunder. There is no question that what the former Wakandan king had did a horrific, inexcusable wrong.

Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) faces off against T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman).

With his malice lying deep in the feelings of isolation and trauma, Erik Killmonger is such a terrific many layered villain. Beyond the bad seed trope, he is the physical consequences of residual scars of seeing the abandoned body of his dead father like that of the black body grossly depicted in history, in our current landscape, dead and unattended, left without a sliver of compassion and empathy. The desire for revenge rightfully brews in him, gaining substantial ground as he grows up on American soil, experiencing heinous racism and oppression, while desiring a place in his father’s native homeland, the very place that he blames for his tragic childhood. Thus, his extreme politics bear great similarities between of the righteous need to arm civilians with tools necessary to flourish and thrive without fearing white supremacy. He is the Malcolm X to T'Challa's Martin Luther King Jr.

The heart of the film is finding one self conflicted between T’Challa and Erik, finding both sides wrong and right on different political and social parallels. That wherein the genius.

Okoye (Danai Gurira) and her beloved spear taking names in the midst of an awesome car chase.

Black Panther fearlessly passes Bechdel and Ava DuVernay tests with flying emergent colors. The women of Wakanda were an absolute, scene stealing treat! There are no background players and props here. Firstly, the dynamism between the four leading women was a chemistry barely tapped in the Marvel Comics film sphere seeing as most of its core female characters, Black Widow especially, operate alone in a male dominated situations. In Wakanda, levels of trust and friendship went beyond protecting their supreme ruler. Queen Ramonda, Shuri, Nakia, and Okoye are a beautiful, inspiring sentiment, an awesome portrayal of the communal bonds between the black women’s love for each other and their undying allegiance to their country.

Nakia (Lupita Nyong'o) and Princess Shuri (Letitia Wright) are ready to fight for their country.

Queen Ramonda has birthed two amazing individuals who have inherited her goodness, her tenacity, and her courage. Princess Shuya, the computer tech whiz behind Wakanda’s highly advanced superior technology had more than once saved the day behind-the-scenes. She is valiant, witty, sharp, and intelligent, a supreme highlight who had some of the best deep seated one-liners, especially about colonialism. Nakia, the prince’s heart, has love for all people, wanting nothing more than to share Wakanda’s wealth of knowledge and resources to those of the diaspora, but of course, her kind of vigilantism often gets her into trouble. She too is an excellent warrior, her fighting skills a tremendous glory to watch, seen in the visually stunning choreography sequence in the casino scene with her fellow sister, Okoye, the powerful, resilient, staff wielding leader of the impressively elite Dora Milaje. Okoye is fierce and loyal to the throne, which adds to her internal struggles further down the line.

In the forests near the mountains of Gorilla City, Jabari's Tribe, Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett) and Shuri (Letitia Wright).  

When Nakia, having successfully taken the last of Wakanda’s most precious plant as Killmonger orders it all burned down, is pleaded by Queen Ramonda herself to engulf the advanced Black Panther powers, the powers entrusted in her familial line. Even with her own young daughter standing by, it is Nakia, that Queen Ramonda believes can save them.

Other must see highlights: Nakia's first secret mission of freeing captive women (because of its heartbreaking reminder of "Bring Back Our Girls," a movement to finding the missing kidnapped girls from Chibok in Borno State, Nigeria); Killmonger wisely informing a curator of the Museum of Great Britain that they stole artifacts from Africa (because us knowledged people cannot imagine Africans gifting precious artworks to "The Other" aka colonizers); M'Baku and his people barking over Agent Everett Ross, telling him that he couldn't talk (because white people constantly tend to speak over black people). A sweet Moonlight actor makes a cameo at the end (because this brings to full circle the monumental range of diaspora unleashed in this film, us brown and darker skinned complexions with our broad noses and protruding foreheads and full lips are present together).

Wakanda Ensemble: Forest Whittaker, Daniel Kaluuya, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, Chadwick Boseman, Angela Bassett, Danai Gurira, and Letitia Wright.

Black Panther does have minor adversaries. It is unsettling that a white C.I.A. operative comes to their country, wears their symbolic garb, and eventually must wield their sophisticated devices to blast down Wakandan vessels. There is no queer representation, which makes one wish that Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie, introduced in Thor: Ragnarok, would fly on down to Wakanda and have her way with a Dora Milaje soldier. Or perhaps in its sequel (oh there has got to be a sequel), Roxanne Gay can be brought into the writing room. The most glaring flaw is that black libertarianism, seemingly the real supposed villain, the conveyed message behind Killmonger's "evil," definitely conjures internalized friction. This idea to save long suffering black people from imperialism (Wakanda has plentiful which Nakia earlier addressed) isn't Wakanda's problem, but what T'Chaka did to Killmonger is. Where was Killmonger's mother? What role did she play in his life, if any? His masculinity was a toxic, misogynistic brand and yet, his desire to arm the most vulnerable people in the world was moving in spite of it.  

However, it is imperative to remember that one fictional superhero movie cannot hold everything, be everything to someone. It would be irresponsible to say the least.

Black Panther has granted us a black director (Ryan Coogler), black writers (Coogler with Joe Robert Cole), a black costume designer (Ruth Carter), a black jewelry designer (Douriean Flecther), a black production designer (Hannah Beachler), a black soundtrack director (Kendrick Lamar), and an almost all black cast from different pockets of the globe. And that stands for something undeniably profound.

T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) has reassurance from Nakia (Lupita Nyong'o) that he can and will thrive as king of Wakanda.

Overall, Coogler and his team have helm a magnificent picture with a fine, gratifying story that passionately entails the complexities of fights within the black community. He has achieved a finesse that few filmmakers in the comic book verse have by incorporating historical and contemporary problems. The performances are meticulously top notch and powerful, possibly one of the best ensembles of Marvel. With Oscar winners and nominees, Golden Globe contenders, NAACP Awards and Black Reel accolades, and even a Pulitzer Prize nominee in the mix, the stakes were high. From Chadwick Boseman's commanding lead (kudos to his dialect coach), Michael B. Jordan's ruthless aggression to Lupita Nyong'o's ferocious vitality to Danai Gurira's stout loyalty, everyone had came with their A game. Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker, Daniel Kaluuya, Sterling K. Brown, Winston Duke, and Letitia Wright (who was superb in that must watch Black Mirror episode, "Black Museum') also put in incredible acting efforts.

Black Panther may not have televised the whole entire revolution, but this imperative comic book film drama passionately ignites conversations to take that leap.

Now go see and support the vision of black excellence. Wakanda forever.

The Big Tease: Recapping the Lit 'Black Panther' Trailer

Black Panther film poster.

Black Panther's newly released mini trailer is only less than two minutes long, but it's the most incredible, nail-biting one minute and fifty-two seconds existing right now. Led by solid master scribe Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station and Creed), performance top houses such as Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Angela Bassett, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, and Forest Whitaker just to name a few, and gorgeous costume design by Oscar and Emmy nominated Ruth E. Carter (Malcolm X, Amistad, and Roots), Black Panther promises to deliver and honor our greatest hero dreams through the art of film.

Chadwick Boseman is the perfect choice for as the King of Wakanda, T'Challa.

Firstly, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby are the two white men who created Black Panther and the fictional Africanized world of Wakanda. In this modern day and age, it's right to hand the film reins over to Coogler, a phenomenal award-winning African American filmmaker, wonderfully adept at humanizing blackness, giving his black anti-stereotype characters full breadth: vulnerability, flaws, and integrity. Most importantly, Africa and the black experience is still a sensitive issue. When often filtered through white lenses, films starring people of color are told with blatant or hinted exoticism, white imperialism, and misogynoir. The black villain is also a huge fear to tackle among non-black filmmakers due to history. Coogler is definitely capable of rendering a villain that is not a mustache twirling tagline.

Although not filmed on any African continent, filming locations include Argentina, parts of South Korea, and Atlanta, Georgia.

Raised fists, the likely stance film goers will have come February 16, 2018.

Forest Whitaker is Zuri, T'Challa's spiritual advisor. Coogler states, "Forest’s character, more than anything, is a major tie-back to T’Challa’s father. Zuri is someone he looks to for guidance."

Secondly, Black Panther's casting is out of this world. With a few Oscars winners and nominees in the mix, this film is not only a black superhero film, it's a black superhero that will include top notch acting. Boseman resumes his role (leading instead of supporting) as the fiery crime fighter nodding to African roots, Jordan and Nyong'o play layered villains (against their usual goodie-two-shoes roles), and Bassett and Whitaker mentor their characters.

Arrested Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) comes forward with W'Kabi (Get Out's Daniel Kaluuya) at right.

Thirdly, it makes one a bit teary eyed to see a cast featuring so many brown and ebony skinned bodies and in a big budget Marvel film no less! Like Moonlight, Black Panther shows the array of African diaspora, the varied skin hues, the specific features, the individualized hairstyles. The black women, with their short crops and regal clothing, are sensual, sleek, powerful goddesses confident in their own chemical makeup. The black men have dignity, honor, and sexual appeal. That kind of validation, of ownership told through Coogler's vision is downright laudable.

Villainous Nakia (Lupita Nyong'o) stepped out, a fierce stunner in a fetchingly designed dress and awesome twist out 'fro.

Warriors led by Ayo (Florence Kasumba) who is fighting Nakia (Lupita Nyong'o).

In closing, the excitement and anticipation for the film is gaining momentum. The trailer showcases awesome cinematography, excellent lighting and camera direction, and amazing costumes.
Black Panther, we're ready and rooting for you.

Disney Takes a Giant Leap of Faith With "Queen of Katwe"

Queen of Katwe film poster has that The Lion King vibe.

 "This just isn't a game, it is a way out."

Queen of Katwe paints marvelous touches on desires to become bigger than improbable circumstances. On the canvas, set in Uganda, Phiona Mutesi, a young, intelligent Ugandan girl selling maize alongside her little brother to make desperate ends meet, leads this engaging biopic. Uniquely enough, showcasing continent from within, hardships and strife hold hands with love and joy, rarely seen in an African based film.

Nakku (Lupita Nyong'o) and her daughter Phiona (Madina Nalwanga).

After her brother speaks of Robert Katende, an educated happily married man, showing village children something new and exciting at the community center, Phiona comes along, immediately curious and drawn to activity of chess. She quickly picks up the challenging game, emerging from beginner to novice quite fast.  Her low-spirited shyness dissolves as building confidence takes place. Of course, Phiona's mother, Nakku is against anything that isn't helping keep a roof above their heads. Night, Nakku's other daughter, fancies moneyed boys and an "easy" way out of impoverished slums whereas always-doing-right Phiona is Nakku's most reliable girl. Chess becomes the vehicle driving emotional threads to Phiona and Nakku's close relationship, threatening to divide a mother's need for stagnant consistency and a daughter's newfound commitment to better her situation.

Robert (David Oyelowo) is impressed with Phiona's (Madina Nalwanga) skills and pushes her to continue playing.

On quest to become a Chess Master, Phiona falls into arrogant behavior.
It is understandable.
Phiona hails from a predicament where women aren't to have dreams beyond finding a financially sound man. The situation is worse still. Night's ups and downs consist of receiving monies, fine clothes, and accessories as well as being systematically dumped several times. It isn't the life Phiona wants.
Moments in which Phiona is strongly defiant, wanting to compete in every chess competition she can, are intensely moving. Sure the audience is expected to believe that she is getting carried away with her forceful motivation. Yet implanted hope grows regardless.
Phiona is deserving-- deserving of every good prospect sliding in her direction.

Nakku (Lupita Nyong'o) parting Phiona's (Madina Nalwanga) hair.

Queen of Katwe, a Disney production, celebrates not just Phiona's chess victories. This bold, powerful tale, breaking a tradition of European beauty standards and exclusive fairy tale caricatures, is a testament to young black girls that they can be anything they want to be. They don't have to desire waist length hair, light skin and light eyes, or a romance. They can be their perfect individualized selves without any alteration caused by inherent brainwashing. They can be their own Phiona-- short cropped hair, dashiki fabric, and luminous ebony skin product of pure Africa-- desiring to play chess at highest level possible.
That is an astounding accomplishment.
The "unconventional" can become the normality.

Phiona the champ with one of her guiding lights, Robert (David Oyelowo).

Another solid plus, which is usually typical Hollywood tactic, is that no white saviors assertively present themselves. Mira Nair utilizes African resources to best of knowledgeable ability. From the Katwe slums to the big city, the largely black cast has no need for outsiders. Moreover, Phiona is her own hero. Sure Robert paved the way, shared a gift with Phiona, but her intelligent mind is hers alone.

"Are you my daughter?" Nakku asks. "Yes, I am," Phiona declares.

Queen of Katwe may have a few cases of formulaic principles to amp up drama.
However, that doesn't break away from a triumphant story that will inspire female equations worldwide. Phiona, an unlikely heroine, overcomes humungous odds by besting both boys and girls, with a beaming, wide smile and tender grace. With aide of valiant Robert and once reluctant-turned proud Nakku, Phiona cannot lose. 

Director Mira Nair and Lupita are all smiles in a filming location.

Nair has performed a gracious act by taking on a narrative set in Africa.
With witty charm, comedic chops, and heartfelt sincerity, David Oyelowo is exceptional as a man who sees and honors the potential he sees in lower class pupils. Lupita Nyong'o portrays Nakku with remarkable three-dimensional tenacity. From angrily snatching her children away from Robert to making ultimate sacrifices for Phiona's happiness to utter distraught at Phiona's temporary heartbreaking decision, Nyong'o displays an incredible range of skillful performance. Awards season should knock on her door next year. As for newcomer Madina Nalwanga, she was a standout as the leading focal point. She showed extreme depth, rendering Phiona's passion, strength, and will. This may be the start of an excellent road ahead for this mesmerizing young actress.

"Are we still going to be Americanah's Ifemulu and Obinze?" Yes. Please. Lupita and David have a beautiful vibe together. Let's hope they make a few more films with each other, especially a certain treasure based on Chimamanda Adichie Ngozi's thought-provoking novel. Is it too much to want Mira Nair or another amazing filmmaker woman of color to direct them again?

Queen of Katwe is worth viewing over and over. The acting, direction, music, and cinematography is an overall celebration of the beauty of Africa and its humbled yet passionately determined people. We all know a Phiona Mutesi-- whether resting dormant inside of us or visibly depicted in another.
Also must recommend staying after film is over for poignant rolling end credits and this special music video directed by Nair with surprising cameos. Such a splendid treat all around!
Let's hope that more authentic stories based in Africa receive the Hollywood greenlight.